It's Time To Run
by carlypotter
Summary: Daryl and Beth grow close as tragedy begins to strike the prison group. Rated T, subject to change. Based sometime during season 3, pre-Governor attack.
1. prison rooftop

Beth didn't know why she had trouble sleeping that night. Sure, nobody from Hershel's farm had gotten a full night's sleep in a while, but Beth usually didn't have any problem dozing for a couple hours. Judith was peacefully sleeping in her crib, and everyone else had gone to bed, so there was no noise keeping her up. Maybe it was just going to be another sleepless night—it wasn't her first, and it wouldn't be her last.

She decided she needed some air, and soon found herself on the moonlit roof of their cell block. "Beth," a gruff voice greeted her, and Beth realized she hadn't been the only one who needed air.

"Hi," she greeted Daryl. He nodded at her, taking a drag off a cigarette.

"Baby keepin' ya awake or somethin'?" Daryl asked. He knew that the baby got up often through the night, and Beth was the one left to care for her.

"No, she's sleepin'. I just needed some air," she replied. "What's keepin' you awake?" Beth knew Daryl wasn't one to talk, but maybe he would open up to her. Sure, maybe he just didn't sleep—not many of them did anymore—but Beth thought there might be something else on his mind.

He sighed. "It's just...Merle. It's been different since him n' the rest of the Woodbury folk come to live here, y'know? Can't help thinking somethin's gunna happen." He took another drag off his cigarette as he finished speaking.

Beth nodded in understanding. "There's been a different sort of energy since they came here. It'll pass. Merle cares for you, and he knows how protective you are over the group. He's not gunna do anything to any of us if he thinks it's gunna set you off." She'd seen Daryl angry before, and she knew his older brother wouldn't want to cross that line. Once upon a time he would have, but not anymore. "It'll pass, once everyone's used to them bein' around. It'll pass, you'll see."

Daryl looked at the pretty blonde. "Y'know, you're pretty smart for a 17 year old. Ya know how to read people."

"Eighteen," Beth corrected him. "My birthday was last month. I've been keeping track of the months and everything since this all started."

Daryl finished his cigarette and muttered a quick 'happy birthday' to her. Beth smiled at him, then turned to go back inside. She paused mid-step, then looked back to Daryl. "You got another one of those?" she asked, gesturing towards the cigarette butt Daryl was now extinguishing, stomping on it with his boot.

Daryl gave her a look of surprise. He'd thought Beth was a "good girl"—no drinks, no smokes, no nothin'. Apparently he'd underestimated her. "You sure? Your daddy's gunna be mad if he catches ya." He stated.

Beth had never smoked in her life, of course, but some sudden impulse told her to take one. "Oh well. I need it."He handed her the cigarette and a small zippo lighter. She placed the cigarette between her lips and lit it. When she exhaled, she sighed with relief. "Guess they do help with nerves," she mused aloud.

Daryl cracked a rare smile. "Not bad, for a newbie. Most people have coughin' fits their first time smokin'."

Beth shrugged, taking another drag. "My brother Shawn used to smoke. I'm kinda used to it." That was the last thing said between the pair that night, though neither of them went inside for a while. Beth offered him another smile and a 'goodnight' when she went back inside the prison.


	2. not so safe

Daryl POV

Daryl wouldn't tell anyone this, but he really needed to talk to someone. About Merle, him coming back and living in the prison, and everything. The problem was, he didn't know _how _to talk to people. He wasn't the greatest talker in the first place, as he preferred to keep to himself. But when Beth joined him up on the roof, he found it easy to confide in her.

Beth obviously wasn't as much of a "good girl" as he thought—giving the pretty blonde one of his cigarettes wasn't something he thought he'd ever do. He'd never pictured her 'breaking the rules', so to speak. He did manage to talk to her a little about Merle, and the off feeling he'd brought with him upon his return. He cursed himself for not being able to talk more, but he was hoping he'd be able to talk to her again. He watched her go back into the prison and followed shortly after, sitting on his perch in the cell block until dawn. He wouldn't—no, couldn't—sleep, he hadn't been able to since the farm.

He got up shortly after dawn. He found Beth with Judith outside, sitting on a bench in the courtyard. "Mornin'" he greeted her.

"Hey," she said, shifting the weight of the baby to the other side of her body. She sat the bottle down and started burping her.

"You're good with her. Keepin' her quiet an everything," Daryl remarked, giving Lil' Asskicker a once over. The baby was certainly growing, and she looked healthy.

"Thanks," she replied, with a slight smile. Maggie entered the courtyard then, asking Beth to help take care of some walkers that had piled up against the fence. Beth agreed, and said she'd be there in a minute. "Here, will you take Judith?" she asked Daryl. Not waiting for an answer, she carefully placed the baby in his arms and went to join her sister.

They returned in a couple minutes. Beth walked over to Daryl and took Judith back. "Thanks for looking after her," she said.

"Wasn't any trouble," he told her. "Kid's quiet as a mouse."

Beth smiled, and agreed. "Yeah, she's definitely a good baby." That's when they heard the screams from inside the prison. "Whats going on?!" Beth asked. The screams were frequent and escalating quickly, as everyone started to flood out of the building.

"Dunno," he stated. "RICK, GLENN! LET'S GO!" He bellowed, rushing into the cell block. Many of the Woodbury residents and the original prison group were now pouring into the courtyard. The other two men joined Daryl.

Beth didn't want to stay in the courtyard, she wanted to go in and help. She handed Judith to Carol, grabbed her knife, and went in. She saw chaos—walkers were pouring into the cell block, trying to make a feast out of everyone who still remained inside. She immediately stabbed a walker who was going for one of the older residents. She pushed the man back towards the door so he could escape to the courtyard. "Daryl, look out!" Maggie called. A walker had launched himself at Daryl, who had his back turned. Beth lunged towards the walker before it had a chance to sink its teeth into his shoulder, and killed it. This went on for a couple minutes, killing all the walkers who had come in, saving the few humans who hadn't yet gotten out.

Finally it was all over, and the five of them—Beth, Glenn, Maggie, Daryl and Rick—exited the cell block. "It's clear," Rick said.

"What the hell was that?!" one of the Woodbury residents demanded.

"Walkers must've wrenched the door on the far side of the cell block open. We'll go take care of it," Glenn told her. They went back in, and indeed found the other door open. It hadn't been wrenched open though, no. Someone had tied the door open, and from the looks of the blood and guts leading up to the doorway, the walkers had been lured into the cell block.

"This is crazy," Beth said. "Who'd want to do something like this?"

Glenn turned towards her. "I'd bet it's someone from Woodbury, maybe they want to take this for their self." They secured the door, made sure it was shut tight. No more walkers would be getting through there.

The small group walked back through the prison, and Daryl fell into step with Beth. "Thanks for savin' my ass back there. Walker would've got me if you hadn't killed 'em." Daryl obviously hadn't heard Maggie's warning.

"Not a problem. I don't want any of us to get hurt," she said. Daryl grunted in agreement and they continued the short walk in silence.

_A/N I'm going to try to update once a week. Hope you enjoyed this one !_


	3. nightmares

_A/N : Thanks for the reviews/favorites/follows guys! It means a lot to me, I didn't think this story would have this big of a reaction as quick as it did. So I'm gunna try my best to make it a good one __ Also, I know I said I'd try to update every week, but I just had to post this last one...until next week! _

Beth POV

It had been a couple days since the walker attack. Beth still couldn't make sense of it. Obviously it was a trap made by a human—no walker could tie up a door and lead a trail of blood and guts straight to it—but she wanted to know who would do it. Luckily nothing else had happened and it had been quiet at the prison since.

Beth had been busy, taking care of Judith and helping the others take care of the walkers near the fence—they'd all began to clump together in one massive heard, instead of staying spread out. She wondered how much longer they'd be able to keep it under control didn't voice her thoughts out loud of course; she didn't want to put doubt in anyone else's mind.

When she fell asleep that night, she didn't expect to have nightmares. They had stopped for a while, after all. She'd been hoping they wouldn't come back, but sure enough they did. "Beth!" someone exclaimed, waking her up. She sat up in a cold sweat, tears coming down her face. She squinted in the dark to make out the figure. It was Daryl. "Whats wrong? You were screamin'."

"It's nothing...i just had a nightmare," she said with a shaky breath.

Daryl wasn't much of a conversationalist, so he was quiet for a minute as he tried to figure out how to respond. "You wanna talk 'bout it?" he asked her.

"I've been having this nightmare since the walkers started showing up, when my mom was killed." She paused. . Her mother had been dead for months now, and it never got easier for her. "I saw her get bit, you know. And that's the nightmare, her getting bit over and over again. It never gets any easier to watch." Beth's voice and breath were steady now, but he could tell she was still scared.

"That's gotta be somethin' terrible. Couldn't 'magine my ma getting bit. She didn't live to see this whole thing start, so it'd kinda be impossible..." Daryl's voice drifted off.

"What happened to her?" Beth asked. She didn't know if he'd open up to her or not.

He'd never talked about his mom's death before. He didn't know if he wanted to, but there was something about Beth that told him he could talk to her about anything. "She died when I was young. My pa beat her real bad one day, and she never got up."

"I'm sorry..." Beth said. "That would be awful. I couldn't imagine losing my mom at a young age."

"It was bad, yeah. Left me n Merle to fend for ourselves. Pa was drunk half the time, and it wasn't pretty for us," Daryl had never talked to someone like this before. He'd wanted to sure, but he never trusted anyone enough to talk to them about it before.

"Well, you survived. Even turned out OK. That's the past. You aren't gunna get hurt like that again," Beth told him, and he might have even believed her.

"Sure hope not," he sighed. "Tell ya what, you have nightmares again, come find me. I'm usually up on the roof durin' the night."

Beth smiled at the offer. "Thank you. It really helps having someone to talk about it with, y'know? I wouldn't wanna bring it up with Maggie or my daddy," she sighed.

"Yeah, I get it," Daryl responded, knowing all too well that she was talking about. "You're pretty decent when it comes to those things to. Got that trustworthy vibe goin' on."

She smiled once again. "That offer goes both ways, alright? Anytime you wanna talk to just come and find me. I won't be far."

He offered her a half smile, then turned around and began to walk out of her cell. "G'night," he said over his shoulder.

"Night," Beth replied, sinking back down on her mattress. She drifted back off into sleep, and this time she had no nightmares. She was grateful for Daryl waking her. She hoped her screaming hadn't woke anyone up, especially the baby. All was quiet once Daryl left, so she figured everyone else was sound asleep, or pretending to be


	4. escaping for a while

**Daryl POV.**

"You should go on a run soon," Rick told Daryl the next morning. "We're running out of supplies..."

Daryl grunted. "I know. I'll head out today, find somethin'."

"Alright. Wanna take someone with ya for backup, feel free," Rick told him. "Glenn or Maggie'd probably be your best bet."

"I'll get someone and go," he gruffly replied.

He walked back into the prison to grab his crossbow and a knife for his run, when he spotted Beth taking care of Judith. He paused, then walked over to her, making sure not to scare the girl. "You wanna get out of here for a bit?" he asked her.

She looked surprised at the offer. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Goin' on a supplies run soon. Figured ya might wanna get out a the prison, see a change in scenery," he said. "You in or what?"

Beth now smiled, and accepted his offer. "Sounds perfect. Just let me tell Carol to watch the baby...oh and I gotta tell my daddy I'm goin on a run!" She set the baby down in her crib and went off to find Carol, then Hershel. She returned in a matter of minutes, with the pistol she'd seemed to have claimed as hers, and a machete.

"You ready?" Daryl asked her. She nodded. "Let's go."

They took one of the vehicles from the prison, instead of Daryl's motorcycle. It would be faster to have the motorcycle, of course, but they wouldn't be able to carry many supplies back with it. If they found any, that was.

They drove for about two hours, in comfortable silence, until they came to a small little town. "Let's check the stores 'round here," Daryl said, stopping the car and pulling it over. They walked into the first store, which looked like a small convenience store. "First rule of goin' on a run: make sure the place is clear of walkers. If it's not, and the walkers are manageable, take care of them, then proceed. If there's too many, head out before they notice you." Beth nodded, making a mental note of this.

He looked in the window of the small store, as it provided a clear and safe view of inside. "Looks like there's no one here," he said, motioning towards the door. Beth opened it, then trailed after Daryl as he entered the store. "Second rule: get the important stuff first; in our case, that would be baby food, medical supplies, and food and water for us."

"Got it," Beth replied, and the pair began searching through the shelves. They didn't find much left in the store; a can of baby formula, a first aid kit, and some bottled water. They leave the store. Beth scans the street for walkers, and notes a pack of roughly 10 heading towards them. "Looks like we've got company," she mutters to Daryl, and the two bring out their knives, each taking out walkers until none of the pack are left standing.

They leave the bodies in the street, and begin scavenging the rest of the street. They run into a house that proves to have plenty of packaged goods, bottled water, and best of all, baby formula. It was essentially a gold mine for them.

"Alright, looks like we've got all the important stuff," Daryl says. "Now we get to snag some luxuries, stuff that ain't vital to us survivin'. Stuff that gets left behind if it weighs us down." He picks the lock to a house and lets Beth in, making a 'ladies first' gesture with a motion of his arm. They take a few things from the house—pillows and blankets to make the prison more comfortable, mostly, and Beth manages to find a mobile toy in an abandoned nursery room—then begin packing everything in the back of the vehicle, and starting off for the prison once again.

**Beth POV**

Beth wondered why Daryl had asked _her _to go on a supply run with him. She wasn't exactly the toughest member of the group. She certainly hadn't killed as many walkers as the others, nor did she have as much experience as them.

She accepted his offer, of course. She was secretly dying to get out of the prison for just a while, and she was glad she'd been given the opportunity. She wasn't complaining about killing any of the walkers either. She'd become restless in the prison, and was glad that she could help kill the small pack of walkers they'd encountered. It was different killing them without being restricted by a fence.

They returned that night just after it had turned dark. The others were pleased with the load they had come back with. It was better than anyone could imagine. None of them had expected that they'd come back with as many supplies as they did.

Judith seemed utterly fascinated with the mobile toy Beth had found for her. Miraculously, it still worked. She was attaching the toy to the giggling baby's crib when she heard someone come into the cell. "She sure seems to like it," Daryl commented.

Beth wasn't sure why he'd been popping up all the time now, but she didn't mind. She enjoyed the rednecks company. "Yes, she does. I'm real glad it still works," she said, glancing up at Daryl, who smiled down at the pretty blonde.

"Y'know, you seem to be pretty useful on supply runs," he commented. "Might have to take ya along with me again sometime."

"I'd like that," she told him. It was a daring move, she knew, but she wrapped her arms around the redneck. It was daring because he seemed indifferent to any sort of affection, but he responded in turn by squeezing his arms around her.

"I would too," he said, stepping out of the embrace. Without much hesitation, he stepped forward again and gave Beth a small, hesitant kiss. "Goodnight Beth," he said, leaving her cell and finding his way up to the perch.

Beth's head was reeling. What had just happened? She knew, of course, that he'd kissed her, but was uncertain of why. Had the seemingly unapproachable redneck developed some sort of attraction to her? Beth wasn't complaining, of course, because she felt the same attraction towards him.

Both of them fell asleep with a smile on their faces that night.

_A/U Hope you enjoyed this slightly longer update! Beth and Daryl are off to a really slow start, I know, mostly because I wasn't sure how I wanted it to play out, but I've got a fair idea of where I want it to go now. _


	5. secrets

_A/N : Thanks for the wonderful reviews, favorites and follows guys, it means a lot to me __ I have to update tonight, because I'm going camping on the weekend and I won't be here to update on Saturday! Hope you enjoy _

Maggie POV

The group had certainly noticed a different energy around the prison since Beth and Daryl returned from their supply run the previous week, though no one had said much about it. Maggie now caught Beth smiling to herself at times when she thought no one was looking, instead of showing an emotionless, somewhat grim expression.

The difference could be detected in Daryl as well, though more subtly. There seemed to be an almost spring in his step, and the gruff redneck appeared to have a sort of openness about him—not that he'd actually attempt to talk to many outside of the original prison group.

Maggie wondered what had brought on the change in the seemingly unreadable Daryl. She figured the change in her sister was from her finally getting over her suicide attempt...it had been months ago, but Maggie knew that Beth still had nightmares about it, and fought to stay alive. She didn't expect her sister to be totally over it right away, she knew it'd take months for her to get back to normal, but she was glad her younger sister was ok.

The rest of Maggie's day went by normally; killing walkers that had crowded the fence, trying to secure it more, the usual stuff. They had a lot more people to protect now, so they were always trying to improve their security.

"Hey kiddo, you feelin ok?" Maggie asked as she walked into Beth's cell. The younger Greene sister was feeding Judith.

"Yeah, why do you ask?" Beth appreciated Maggie's concern, but had been caught off guard about it. She hadn't been as persistent in checking up on Beth as she had before they found the prison.

"I was just thinkin', you look like you been better ever since that supply run you went on a couple days ago," Maggie mentioned. She didn't want to directly confront Beth about her sudden change in mood, but she wanted to talk about it.

"Have I? I didn't notice," Beth admitted. "It's probably just cause of all the supplies we found. It's good to have all that formula for Judith. Makes me feel like we can keep her healthy for a while longer."

Maggie nodded in approval. "Yeah, it's sure a good feelin'. She's gettin' quite big now," she responded.

Beth smiled. "Yeah, she sure is." As she said this, she took the bottle from the baby's mouth and set it on the table near her bed. She shifted Judith into an upwards position and began to burp the baby.

Maggie left then, as she wanted to find Glenn. She'd meant to mention this change to him as well, but of course he was the first one to bring it up. "You noticed a different mood spreading around here?" he asked her.

"Yeah, I have," Maggie responded, "ever since Daryl and Beth came back from that run. Wonder whats goin' on..."

"They're probably just happy they found all that stuff for Judith," Glenn attributed the happy atmosphere to the supplies, as Beth had.

"Yeah, that must be it," Maggie mused. She couldn't let go of the suspicion that something else had happened on that run that no one but Beth and Daryl knew about. Maggie knew her sister wasn't afraid to keep secrets, and she didn't really blame her. Their parents had a tendency to overreact when either of them went against their very conservative ways, so Maggie wasn't a stranger to secret keeping either. But she had a feeling this one would be out sooner than later.

_A/N Well there's my shitty attempt at a 'cliffhanger.' No one knows about Beth and Daryl's kiss of course, and no one's gunna be happy when they do...Also, school starts for me next week (boo) so I might not be able to update until after that week. Hope you guys enjoyed this update _


	6. fears

_A/N Ok so clearly the whole 'update once a week thing' isn't working cause I'm busy and everything, so I'll update whenever I can, simply cause its easier. Enjoy this last update before school starts for me _

**Beth POV**

Days had passed since Daryl had kissed her, and it was almost the only thing she could think about. She knew she'd began to have feelings for the redneck, but she never expected it to become anything more than some stupid little crush, but by some miracle, he seemed to feel the same way about her.

The group had had a very long day at the prison. More walkers than usual were piling up against the fence. The original prison group needed to think of a plan of action, and fast, before the walkers became too much more of a threat. "We can't just keep killing them as they pile up," Maggie said, and most of the group agreed.

"Why can't we just leave 'em?" Merle demanded. "They ain't causin' no problems, just keep getting rid of 'em like you been doin'."

"Their building up more and more every day, it's not safe for us," Michonne put in. Though she was not one of the original group, she was treated one due to her skill and ability to keep everyone safe.

"She's right," Daryl agreed. "We need to find a way to secure those first two gates again." The first two gates that had kept the walkers out of the prison had been smashed in when the Governor had let his first attack.

"We get enough people rounded up n' we'll be able to clear all of them that's out there," Rick said. "If we sneak through this gate, we'll be able to get a few while they're still piled up by the fence." He gestured toward the third gate that the group had gathered by. It was the only one that hadn't been smashed in, and they were lucky that it hadn't.

"We'd need a decent sized group," Glenn butted in, "but it can be done. Who'd we send in?"

"Daryl. Michonne. Maggie. Merle. Me. You," Rick responded. "We'd have to see if any of the Woodbury folk are handy with weapons. They'd help us too."

"I want to help," Carl said. Beth mentally rolled her eyes. Ever since he'd killed that boy on the day of the governor's raid, Beth had found he'd been acting more like Shane had, before he went totally crazy and wound up dead. She didn't have a good feeling about that.

Rick bent down to his son. "Carl, this is very dangerous. I know you can handle a gun, but we aren't going to be able to use them. It's a waste of ammo and the noise would just attract more prey. You'll have to sit this one out." Carl was silent as his dad shut his offer down.

"I'll help," Beth volunteered. She had been quiet during this 'meeting', as she had the baby and was tending her as well as paying attention to everyone else.

"What? No, that's crazy!" Maggie protested. "I don't want you to put yourself at risk doing this."

"Why? You are, so I should be able to too! I know how to kill walkers. I'm not completely hopeless, you know." Beth felt the need to defend herself. She didn't want Maggie treating her like a child.

"Kid's right," Daryl said. "She took out walkers on our run the other day, saved my ass couple days before that. She knows how to fight." He didn't like Maggie treating Beth like a total defenceless person either. Beth couldn't help but perk up at his coming to her defense.

"Fine," Maggie said. The group decided that they would clear the yard of walkers and attempt to make new gates to keep more walkers from piling in. Rick left to go see if anyone from Woodbury would be of any help, and Beth left baby Judith with Carol. The group gathered their weapons, and Rick returned with one large man from Woodbury, who was clutching a hammer.

"Alright, let's get to it," Rick instructed the group. One of the other group members opened the gate long enough for everyone to pass through, and quickly closed it afterwards. The next few moments were a blur. Beth stabbed every walker she could reach, and went after more once a few near her were killed. The numbers diminished quickly, and soon the walkers were all dead, permanently. They began to drag the bodies into a pile so they could burn them as soon as possible.

It was a giant success, they agreed. It had taken them the majority of the day to kill and burn the bodies, and everyone set back into their normal routines once they were done. Beth returned to her cell and took Judith. Daryl popped in to check on her, as per usual. "Ya did good today," Daryl remarked. "Gettin' pretty good at killin' those things."

Beth gave him a small smile. "Thanks," she responded. "I'm glad it went as well as it did."

"Could've definitely been a disaster if things went wrong, that's for sure," Daryl agreed, nodding his head. "How's the baby doin'?"

"Good, she's getting really big!" Beth exclaimed, looking down at the growing baby. Judith took this opportunity to start crying. Beth tried to settle the baby but her attempts didn't work.

"Here, let me see her," Daryl said, gently taking the baby from Beth. He started bouncing her around and making quiet hushing noises, and the baby was quiet in a couple of minutes.

"You're a natural," Beth joked. "Usually takes me a while to get her settled when she's like that."

"It's nothin'," Daryl replied. "Well, it's my turn on watch now. See ya."

"Bye," Beth muttered back, setting the baby down in her crib, then lying back on her own bed.

The nightmares that night were worse than usual. It started off with them going beyond the gate to kill the walkers, as they had that morning, but everything went wrong. Maggie dropped her weapon and got run down by a few hungry walkers; Glenn tripped and hit his head on the ground, running to save her. A walker snuck up behind Daryl—as unlikely as that was to happen—and sunk its rotting teeth into his neck.

"Beth! Beth!" someone was shaking her awake, again. Of course, she knew it would be Daryl.

"Sorry...nightmares again..." she apologized.

"You don't gotta be sorry. We all get 'em," he said, sitting down beside her on the mattress.

"This one was worse...it was about today, but everything went wrong. The walkers just stomped right over us, there was no way we could kill them...everyone who went out there got killed..." She paused, trying to block the memory from her mind.

"Hey, it's ok," he told her. "We got out fine, everybody's fine..."

"You're right," she said, lying back down. It was silent for a moment, until Daryl got up and began to leave. "Daryl, wait. Will you stay with me? Just until I fall asleep?" She felt awkward asking, but she knew she'd be safe if he were here.

"Uh...sure," he replied, sitting on the edge of her bed once again.

"You can lie down, if you want," Beth said. So he did, kicking off his boots before he let his feet touch the mattress. To make them both more comfortable, he wrapped his arms around her and the pair fell into a dark, dreamless sleep.

_A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed it! School just started for me so it might be hard to update every week but I'll try my hardest _


	7. bonds

_A/N finally getting around to updating :D hope you guys enjoy!_

**Daryl POV**

He woke up on the small mattress with his arms still wrapped around Beth. He took a minute to admire the pretty blonde, who was still sleeping. She looked peaceful, undisturbed. The sight of her brought a small smile to his face, not remembering the last time he'd had a reason to smile. It certainly hadn't been before the world had gone to shit. But now he had Beth, and he was damn happy about it. He didn't know when he'd started having feelings for the younger girl, but he was glad she felt the same way.

Without thought, he planted a soft kiss on her forehead. Beth stirred, and turned to face him. Her eyes slowly opened as she smiled up at him. "Good morning," she said softly.

"Mornin," he said, returning her smile.

"You sleep ok?" she asked him. The bed in her cell was small, but Daryl didn't particularly mind.

"Yeah, for the little time I slept. How 'bout you?"

"Good, once you came in. I didn't have any more nightmares," she told him.

"Good thing, or I would've ended up with a black eye with way you act out when you're dreamin'," Daryl joked.

Beth laughed along with him. "The tough Daryl Dixon, making a joke? Never thought I'd see the day," she teased.

"Don't tell the others, it'll ruin m' reputation," he said with a chuckle. The two got up, and left Beth's cell. No one else was up, so the prison was nice and quiet.

Or, at least it was up until Maggie, who'd had the last watch, came into the cell block. "Good, someone's finally up. I need help fixin' the rest of the fences. Come on!" Daryl and Beth quietly followed her outside. The group had managed to fix the middle gate, and were attempting to form a barrier where the outermost gate had been before it was smashed.

The three worked tirelessly for hours, receiving more help as everyone in the camp woke up. Everyone helped make a new barrier until almost sundown. They all felt satisfied, that having the two extra gates between them and the zombies would make them a little safer.

They all found something to eat, and most of the people who'd helped rebuild the gate went to bed, exhausted. Daryl wasn't tired himself, and he had the first watch. Once it grew dark out he found himself in the guard tower, armed with his crossbow.

He soon heard light, quiet footfalls coming up the stairs. "Hey," Beth greeted him.

"Couldn't sleep?" he asked.

"No, not really. I wanted to come up here."

"Well, grab a seat, if ya wanna stay. Help watch."

She sat down close to him. "I'm glad we got those other gates back up. It'll be nice not to have the walkers streaming in like they were anymore."

"Yeah, it'll sure be nice. Don't want any a that scum closer to me than necessary," he commented.

"Think we'll be safe here for much longer?" Daryl took notice of a tone of worry in Beth's voice.

"Don't worry your pretty little head about it," he replied. "We're goin' to take real good care of this place. Ain't goin back to the walkers any time soon."

Beth nodded, and leaned into him. Daryl was momentarily shocked by this, but he quickly recovered. "I know we will. We've worked too hard to give it up. Even the governor couldn't take it from us."

"That's right," he said, putting his arm comfortably around her. They sat in a comfortable silence for the next few hours, until Glenn came up to take over the watch.

Daryl and Beth headed down towards the cell block, and Daryl found himself following her to her cell. "Guess I'll see you tomorrow," she said. "Unless you wanna stay in here again?"

He considered the invitation, accepted it with a smile, and followed her into the cell.

**Maggie POV**

Maggie got up when she heard people stirring in the cell block. It was still the middle of the night, so she figured it would be whoever took the first watch coming back into the cell block. She had fallen asleep soon after she ate so she wasn't sure who it was. She peeked her head out of her own cell long enough to see Daryl going into her sisters.

She arched an eyebrow, questioning. "That's odd," she muttered. Maggie questioned why he was going in her cell—had something been going on between them? It would explain a lot—why she'd noticed the two becoming closer, how they'd both been in such a good mood after the supply run they'd gone on—but she doubted it.

_She probably just wants someone there to make sure she doesn't have nightmares, _she thought to herself. Back at the farm, Maggie and Beth had shared a room, so both knew when the others were having nightmares. Maggie herself hadn't had them for months, but she knew her younger sister still had them every once in a while. _I've been such a bad sister, I should be checking up on her more often, _she scolded herself. She lay back down on her bed and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

The next morning, she found her sister taking care of Judith. "I saw Daryl goin' into your cell last night," she told Beth.

"Relax, nothin's goin' on," Beth reassured her sister. "No need to throw a fit over it. I just like having him there. Makes me feel safe, y'know?" And she did, because Glenn made her feel the exact same way.

"Yeah, I get it," Maggie said, taking a deep breath. "You're not a baby anymore Beth, you can make your own decisions. I get that. But just make sure you're bein' smart, ok? And please, if anything does happen, make sure you tell Daddy. You know how he gets when things are kept from him."

Beth looked back at her sister. "He wouldn't like it, you're right. But I'm over 18 now, he'll have to get that I can make my own decisions."

Maggie smiled. "That's right. So, when did this all happen? I want details!" She poked her sister in the stomach, laughing like they did before their world had changed so drastically. For a few moments they were just two normal sisters—gossiping about boys—and not two survivors trying to live in a world filled with the undead.

_A/N Hope you guys liked it! Review/favorite/follow! _


	8. caution

_A/N: Sorry I'm taking forever with the updates guys, but I just haven't had the time. Hopefully this chapter will make up for it! Don't forget to favorite/fan/review!_

**Beth POV**

The next morning, Beth woke up before sunrise. She quietly crept out of the cell block and into the courtyard, so she could watch the sun as it began to rise. The teenager was thinking about her conversation with her sister, and was relieved that her sister supported her attraction to the older redneck. She was anxious about having to tell Hershel if anything else were to happen with Daryl, because she knew her father would not be as accepting.

"What'cha thinkin' about?" Beth jumped at the sound of Daryl's voice, but relaxed when she saw him appear.

"Oh, nothin'," she sighed. "I talked to Maggie about you last night."

"Yeah? What she have to say?" Daryl questioned her.

"Well, nothin' really. I just told her that I like havin' you around," Beth admitted.

That brought a small smirk to Daryl's lips. "Yeah, you're pretty great to have around too."

"Thanks," Beth said with a nervous laugh.

"So—she's okay with it? With the age difference n' everything?" Daryl himself was just in his 30's, but he knew that it was enough of an age gap to upset her father, and that was the last thing Daryl would ever want to do. He felt he owed the man his life, because if they had been turned away from the Greene's farm, the Atlanta group's chance of survival would be diminished extremely.

"Well, she knows I'm old enough to make my own decisions, so I think she is," Beth told him.

He crossed over to her and wrapped her in an embrace. "Good. Least she'll be able to help convince your daddy that this is ok," he laughed.

Beth laughed, too. "Yeah, that'll be a toughie. But I think he'll accept it eventually." She looked up and smiled at him. Daryl bent down to give her a soft kiss, and he couldn't help but notice it felt like the most natural thing he'd ever done.

They jumped apart as they heard footsteps approaching the courtyard, but they were relieved to find that it was just Maggie, who had taken the last watch and was now heading back inside the cell block. "Morning you two," she greeted the pair cheerfully.

"Hey," Beth greeted her sister in return. "How was your watch?"

"Quiet, which is a good thing," Maggie commented. "Not many walkers 'round the yards anymore, so I'm hoping it'll stay that way."

"Definitely be nice if it did," Daryl commented. It was a huge relief for the group to not have to deal with as many walkers filling up the yards.

Maggie nodded in agreement. "You guys might want to be more careful, just for future reference," she teased, and walked off into the cell block. She heard the two begin to laugh as she closed the door.

"I'm glad it was only Maggie," Beth joked.

"Would've been kinda awkward if it was someone who didn't know what was goin' on," Daryl agreed with her. "Well I'm goin' to go find Rick, see if there's anything he needs me to do."

"Okay, I think I'm going to go get Judith then I'll probably end up helping Carol with the children for the rest of the day," Beth told him, turning back to the cell block.

"Catch ya later," Daryl called over his shoulder, walking off to find Rick.

"See ya," she called back, getting ready for a long day of teaching the kids basic survival skills with Carol. It was a job she enjoyed, of course, but she wished that the kids didn't have to grow up so quickly. _I guess they don't really have a choice, _she told herself, closing the door to the cell block as she went to get Judith.


	9. worry

**Beth POV**

The next morning was nearly chaotic. A few of the original prison group were going to go on a supply run, and they were taking a few Woodbury people as well, so everyone was rushing around trying to finish getting ready for that. "Mornin'" Daryl greeted her as he stepped out into the courtyard.

"Hey," Beth greeted him. "Seems like a big run you're goin' on."

"Hopefully we'll find somethin'," Daryl agreed.

Beth had an uneasy feeling in her stomach, one that told her this run wouldn't go well. "Just promise me you'll be careful, alright?" she glanced up at him with a look of worry in her eyes.

"Don't gotta worry 'bout me," Daryl told her.

"I can't help it," she admitted. "I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

"I'll be fine, promise," the redneck said. "Anyway I guess we're headin' out in a few minutes. I'll see ya when I get back."

"Okay," Beth replied, giving him a smile and walking away. She found her sister in the cell block, also looking slightly worried, as Glen was going on the run too. "They're leavin' in a few minutes," Beth told her.

"I know," her sister responded. "I've got a bad feelin' about this trip, Beth..."

"I do too," she confessed. "But they'll be fine, trust me. It'll be like any other run."

Maggie looked up at her younger sister. "I sure hope so," she sighed.

"Come on, let's go see if they need help getting anything else together," Beth suggested, taking a hold of her sisters hand and helping her off the bench. They made their way back into the busy courtyard, to make sure everybody going on the run was ready. Moments later, the group set off, and the uneasy feeling in Beth's stomach got considerably worse.

**Daryl POV**

The image of Beth's worried face was stuck in his head, and that set him on edge. "Alright, you know the plan. Get in, get our stuff, and get out," he said as they pulled into the department store they were gathering from. "Sweep the perimeter first."

"And stay in formation," Sasha added, walking up behind him. She was one of the Woodbury people on the run, and Daryl was glad. She was a strong fighter, and she knew how to take care of the group.

The store was huge, and quiet. They all took their time gathering as much as they could, and decided that they would bring a larger group back to clear the place out tomorrow. Everything was going according to plan, but that didn't help ease the sense of anxiety from Daryl. He'd be much less tense when they were safe back in the prison.

"I think we've got everything we can get today," Glen said once they'd been there for a while. He noticed the Korean looked slightly anxious as well.

"Let's get out of here then," Daryl remarked, heading towards the front of the store. Everyone else followed.

The way back to the prison was relatively quiet for the first 10 minutes, but they soon ran into trouble, as they were driving straight towards a herd of about 50 walkers. "Shit. Everyone get out and hide!" Sasha said. They got out and scattered quickly before the approaching herd took notice of them. Glen and Daryl hid under the vehicle they'd taken from the prison, while Sasha and her brother Tyrese ducked under another stranded car.

Time seemed to slow down as they waited for the herd to pass. Daryl remembered when the Atlanta group had come across a herd just before Carl had gotten shot; it hadn't been nearly as big as this one was. Everything was deadly quiet, save for the walkers shuffling through.

**Maggie POV**

Maggie was starting to get increasingly worried as time went by. The group had left for their supply run hours ago, and she thought that they would have been back by now. "What if something happened to them?" she mused aloud to herself.

"They'll be fine, Mags," Beth told her sister again, trying to comfort her. "Maybe they got a really big load and it's taking them extra time to get it all together."

"Yeah, you're right. That must be it," Maggie agreed, trying to force herself to believe that Beth was right.

"I just hope they get back soon," Beth said. "It's not easy on anyone having them gone."

"Yeah, they're really important" Maggie nodded, thinking how Daryl and Glenn were always protecting the group.

Carol rushed into the cell block at this time. "Have you two got a minute? We're starting to get some more walker buildup outside our first gate, and we should clear it up." Maggie and Beth nodded, following Carol through the yards and to the first gate. The three women spent a while taking down all the walkers, who had began to build up again.

Maggie felt that killing the walkers relieved some of her tension, but she still felt uneasy. "Wanna come help me feed Judith?" Beth questioned, trying to think of ways to keep their mind off the supply run group until they returned.

"Uh, yeah sure," Maggie responded absentmindedly, and followed Beth up to the cell block, where one of the former Woodbury residents was looking after the child. Beth thanked her for helping out and took Judith from her. Maggie prepared the baby formula for her and handed the bottle to her sister when it was ready.

**Glen POV**

It had been well over an hour since the group had been forced to stop because of the walkers. The herd had almost passed, but Glen knew it wouldn't be safe to get back in the car for a couple minutes yet.

He imagined the people left at the camp were starting to get nervous; they'd left for the supply run in the middle of the morning, and it was now creeping into mid-afternoon. Maggie would be worried sick about him. She never liked him going on runs, and only believed he would be safe once he set foot back into the prison.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by motion around him. Daryl had given the signal that it was ok to get back in the car, so they all did, and sped back towards the prison.

_A/N There's not much Bethyl in this chapter, I know, but there's more coming up! Thanks to all who have favorited/followed this story!_


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